Fire-resisting curtain.



E. H. MoGLOUD. FIRE RESISTING CURTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED APR.27, 1908.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

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FIRE RESISTING CURTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 190B.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

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FIRE RESISTING CURTAIN.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27, 1908.

Patented 0615.28, 1913.

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UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD H. MOGLOUD, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 TI-IE KINN EAIRJ MANUFAC TUBING COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, OI-I1 0, A CORI ORATION 0F WESTVIRGINIA."

FIRE-RESISTING CURTAIN.

Patented Oct. 28,1913.

Original application filedJuly 2, 1904, Serial No. 215,124. Divided. and this application filed April 27, 1908.

Serial No. 429,361.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ED-WARD H. MoOLoun, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in F ire-Resisting Curtains, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates. to means. for operating curtains, doors or structures for partitioning rooms or closing openings in buildings, and is especially useful in connection with curtains for theaters, auditoriums or other buildings having stages.

The object of the invention is first, to provide improved counterbalancing devices, and second, to provide improved means for manually and automatically releasing the closing or partitioning device.

. I originally showed and described this invention in my application for Patent S. No. 215,124, filed July 2, 1904:, and the application for this patent is a division of said original application with an illustration added.

In the accompanying drawings in which it have illustrated examples of the invention as applied to a theater curtain and a hori- Zontally sliding doorFigure 1 is a general view in elevation looking at the stage side or rear side of the theater curtain; Figs. 2 and 8 are gcneralyiews. in elevation illustrating respectively the lowered and raised positions of the curtain and of the weight in the normal operation of. the curtain; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Figs. 2 and 3 showing the position of the part-s when the curtain has been automatically lowered; Figs. 4 and 5 are front and edge it viewsrespectively of the auxiliary or emergency counterbalaneing weight-suspending device showing the weight suspended; Fig. 6 is a front view of. the emergency counterbalancing weightsuspending device showing the electromagnetic release; Fig. 7 is a similar view showing the manual or mechanical release.

Theater curtains, as is well known, are usually raised andloweredbodily in a vertical plane behind the proscenium arch and notrol-led up and unrolled as with some varieties of. fire. curtains.

Thevcurtain, asshown. in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, travels in suitable frame members or guidesiat opposite edges of. the curtain 5 by means of which the curtain can be raised and lowered in ordinary circumstances.

To effect the lowering of the curtain in case of fireI provide an, emergency weight 6 adapted to counterbalance or partially counterbalance the main curtain counterbalanoing weight 5. This weight is normally held suspended by apparatus like that shown in F igs. l, 5, 6 and 'Z. In theseviews is depicted a bracket plate 7 on which are pivoted a pair of hooked levers 7" having their upper ends latched in Weight-suspending position in a notched lever 7, said lever being pivoted at one end to one end of. an other lever 7,,which latter is pivoted at its opposite end to the bracket plate 7. The free end of the lever 7* has attached to it a spring '7 tending to pull it up, and the free end of the lever 7 hasattached to it a similar spring ,7 tending to pull it up, so that if either of the free ends of the duplex lever, composed of two parts? and 7, is pulled up, the notched portion of, the part 7 is pulled off the upper ends of the weightsuspending hook levers '7. But normally both ends of the duplex lever will be held down, one end by a cord or wire 8 having at its lower end a latching handle piece 8* to catch under a small. bracket S near the floor, the horizontal portion of said bracket 8 being notched as shown to receive the cord, and the other end by an armaturei) of an electro'magnet 9 in a suitable electrical circuit as shown. The wire or cord. 8 is shown. to be sectional and provided atyits joints with fusibleor destructible connections 8 severable by a dangerous rise of temperature. In the instance shown a small bell crank orv detent lever 9 pivoted on the bracket plate 7 has one arm arranged toreach out over the free end of the membeer 7 of the duplex lever, while thcr other arm is adapted to be caught andheld by the projecting end of: the suitably suspended.

armature 9, when the electro-magnet is not engaged. In the electro-magnetic arrangement I prefer to use the normally open circuit so that in case of fire the heat shall operate a thermostatic circuit closer, as at 11, to close the circuit and therefore energize the coil and lift the armature and so disengage it from the detent 9. I also provide a suitable manually operative circuit closer arranged near the floor as seen at 12.

The emergency or auxiliary weight 6 is perforated approximately along its vertical axis, and attached to the upper end of the main weight 5 and passing over a pulley 10 is a cord 10 the free end of which is passed through the axial perforation of the emergency weight and provided at its lower end with a stop button 1O adapted to prevent the escape of the weight from the cord. The emergency weight 6 itself is furnished with a pair of clamps 6 pivoted to ears on the upper end thereof. The upper ends of the clamps 6 are provided with loops 6 adapted to catch over the hooks at the lower ends of hook levers 7 The clamps 6 are also provided with springs 6 attached to the weight tending to pull the upper ends of the clamps 6 outward off the hook lever 7 and the lower clamping ends thereof inward to grip the cord 10 The clamps are provided, not only to make sure of the engagement of the weight with the cord, but so that if by accident or trifling of unauthorized persons the weight 6 should be released while the curtain is down, as seen in Fig. 2, the weight will be caught or at least so retarded in its descent as not violently to strike and detach the stop button 10". Then the curtain is up the stop but-ton 10 is, of course, nearer the lower end of the weight, as seen in Fig. at, and the descent of the weight is not of sutficient energy to do harm. Attached to the lower end of the weight 5 and running over appropriate pulleys beneath the floor to the opposite lower corners of the curtain can be two cables for the purpose of holding the curtain to move truly in its channels and preventing itfrom being tilted and caught when raised or lowered.

The operation of the curtain can be readily gathered from what has already been said, but to recapitulate, the curtain in its normal operation is raised and lowered by operating the belt cable 5 preferably by turning the drum 5 which can be provided vwith a gearing and crank or any appropriate and well understood means for effecting its rotation. In Fig. 2 I have shown the parts in normal position when the curtain is down and in Fig. 3 I have shown the normal position of the same parts when the curtain is up, and it will be observed that when the curtain is raised and lowered in normal circumstances the cord 10 moves freely up and down through the perforated emergency weight 6. When a fire takes place on the stage and the curtain happens to be up it may be promptly lowered by detaching the cord or wire 8 from its fastening, thus allowing the duplex lever to rise and release the emergency weightsuspending hooks, thereby relieving the curtain of a portion of the effect of the main counterbalancing weight and allowing the curtain to descend by gravity. If, however, the fire is so located or so violent in its progress that the cord 8 is not safely accessible for hand operation the fusible connection 8 or the electric circuit will effect the automatic release thereof.

In Fig. 8 I have illustrated the invention as applied to a horizontally sliding door 13 having attached to it a cable 14 that runs over a pulley 15. The cord is passed through the weight 6 which is held normally suspended ready for release in case of fire by the same means and in the same way as more particularly set forth in connection with Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive except that the weight 6 instead of acting on the weight 5 (as in Fig. 1) acts directly on the sliding door 13 through the cable 1 1. The cord or wire 8 (as shown in Fig. 8) instead of extending vertically downward may, as shown by dotted lines, run around a pulley 16 and be attached to a suitable fixed point, as seen at 16*, said cord containing, as before, a fusible connection ata point more likely to be quickly affected by the rise of temperature upon the occurrence of fire.

As before indicated, the operating device herein claimed can be used in connection with any of a variety of devices for closing an opening in a building, and I do not wish, therefore, to be understood as con fining myself to the particular applications of my invention or as herein specifically shown and set forth.

By the term counterbalance it is obvious that I do not mean that the main weight 5 wholly counterbalances the curtain or that the auxiliary weight 6 wholly counterbalances the main weight 5.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In combination with a curtain, door or other sliding structure, a main counterbalancing weight connected with and operating with the door, a cord independent of the main weight-suspending cord extending from said main weight and a stop thereon, a second or auxiliary weight and means for suspending the same in position to fall upon said stop to counterbalance the said main weight, and means for automatically releasing said auxiliary weight operative by a dangerous rise of temperature.

2. In combination with a curtain, door or other sliding structure, a main counterbalancing weight connected with and operating with the door, a cord extending from said main weight said cord being independent of that carrying the main weight, a second or auxiliary weight and means for suspending the same to fall in the line thereof, means for releasing said auxiliary weight and means on said auxiliary weight adapted to automatically grip and engage said cord when the auxiliary weight is released.

3. In combination with a curtain, door or other sliding structure, a main counterbalancing weight therefor, an auxiliary weight for counterbalancing the main weight, means for suspending the auxiliary weight comprising a hook lever, a duplex lever for engaging and holding the hook lever in weightsuspending position, and manually operative and electro-magnetically operative devices for releasing the duplex lever to release the hook lever and the auxiliary weight, said manually operative device containing means fusible by a dangerous rise of temperature to release the duplex lever.

4. In combination with a curtain, door or similar structure, a main counterbalancing weight therefor, an auxiliary weight for counterbalancing the main weight, means for suspending the auxiliary weight and for releasing it in case of fire, a cable passing from the main weight through the auxiliary weight, and automatically operative devices on the auxiliary weight for engaging the cable when the weight is released from the suspending device.

5. In combination with a curtain, door or other like structure having a main balancing weight, a cable attached thereto, a weight to engage said cable upon the occurrence of a dangerous rise of temperature, a device for suspending said weight, means for releasably engaging said device to hold the same in weight-suspending position consisting of a lever pivoted at one end to a fixed point and a second lever pivoted to the free portion of said lever, a spring to move both of said levers to cause the release of the weight suspending device, and means automatically operative by a dangerous rise of temperature to release the device for suspending the weight.

6. In combination with a curtain, door or other like structure having a balancing weight, a cable attached thereto, a weight to engage said cable upon the occurrence of a dangerous rise of temperature, a weight suspending device, a device for latching said weight in suspended position comprising a duplex lever one part of which is pivoted at a fixed point while the other is pivoted to the free portion of the first named part, springs adapted to act on each of said part-s, one independently of the other, to cause the release of the weight suspending device and means for automatically releasing either part of said duplex lever operable by a dangerous rise of temperature.

7. In combination with a curtain, door or other like structure having a balancing weight, a cable attached thereto, a weight to engage said cable upon the occurrence of a dangerous rise of temperature, a weight suspending device, a device for latching said weight in suspended position comprising a duplex lever one part of which is pivoted at a fixed point while the other is pivoted to the free portion of the first named part, springs adapted to act on each of said parts to cause the release of the weight suspending device, and separate means for holding each of the parts of said duplex lever in latching position, each of said means operable by a dangerous rise of temperature to release said duplex lever.

8. In combination with a curtain, door or other like structure having a balancing weight, a cable attached thereto, a weight to engage said cable upon the occurrence of a dangerous rise of temperature, said weight provided with a pair of spring actuated clamps 6 a weight suspending device consisting of hook levers 7 a device for latching said hook levers in weight suspending posit-ion comprising a duplex lever one part of which is pivoted at a fixed point, while the other is pivoted to the free portion of the first named part, springs adapted to act on each of said parts, to cause the release of the said hook levers, and means for releasing either part of said duplex lever operable by a dangerous rise of temperature.

9. In combination with frame members, a closure slidable therein, and a balancing weight therefor, a device for causing the closing of said closure including a weight, said last named. weight being operatively connected to the balancing weight so as to serve when falling to raise the same, and means to normally hold said eight elevated.

EDWARD H. MOGLOUD.

\Vitnesses ALBERT RUSH, F. O. SCHMIDT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G." 

